Shine On, Uncle Mommy

Paying tribute to Uncle Mommy, Patricia Pryor, today would have been her 82th birthday. When Mom was my age she made Dad drive her to Eisenhower Park in Long Island early on a Sunday morning to be at the finish line of my first and only half marathon. When I came in she met me with a hug, kiss, flowers and a quart of orange juice that she encouraged me to drink straight from the carton (Dad hated that). 

Mom gave me many nicknames, Tee, Klutz, Cow Cow Boogie, but the sweetest and my favorite, she called me “her little mouse.” I love cheese and she said I gnawed toast with my teeth instead of biting and chewing it. (I did, to make it last longer).

Below, is a charcoal drawing of Mom by Dad when she was 31 years old in 1961. (I remember the night Dad did it on 83^rd Street. Dad kept telling Mom to stop moving). Also below, a few photos of Patty or Pat, the names were interchangeable. Everybody loved her, and Pat's coffee cup for 40 years along with the hot chocolate cup she gave to me, Tom, her little mouse.

I am lucky, I have a film of my parents going in and out St. Stephen’s on their wedding day in September 1952.  For the first time in about 10 years, I watched it the other day three times and had a good cry.

I’m grateful to have had people in my life that I miss all the time. She’s gone 14 years, but I’ll never stop thinking about and loving with my whole heart my Uncle Mommy.

Happy Birthday, Ma!